Out and About

Editor’s note: The Lancaster News is tracking the progress of Katie Stogner and Jeff Holden as they undertake the Island Sun Tanning and Fitness 12-week Challenge for 2012. Here are their first blogs. You can also follow their progress at stevelewisplan.com.

Katie’s story

It’s been two weeks and I still cannot believe I’m actually doing this in front of a camera.

The statewide late winter/early spring wildfire season is still about a month away but the S.C. Forestry Commission has launched a safety campaign so those planning to burn can take the appropriate steps.

The seasonal outlook for the next few months indicates an increasing potential for high wildfire activity for most of the Palmetto State.

Although it may not seem like it due to recent rainfall, precipitation amounts for this portion of the Piedmont are already about 1.2 inches below normal.

If you feel like pulling the covers back up or staying home today, don’t worry.

You aren’t alone. Friday the 13th has a way of doing that.

According to research, as many as 25 percent of the population believe Friday the 13th is a day of calamity.

The fear of Friday the 13th is known as paraskevidekatriphobia (“para-ska-vee-decka-tri-phobia”), which stems from the Greek words for fear, Friday and 13. Friday the 13th happens three times in 2012 – today, April 13 and July 13.

Thanks to cyberspace, cell phones, Twitter, and e-mail, reaching someone halfway around the world is almost instantaneous with very little face to face interaction.

There’s nothing wrong with using technology to your advantage, but that’s not always the way the Rev. T. Edward Kofi, director of African Christians Fellowship International (ACFI) does things. Yes, Kofi has a Facebook page, but he prefers to reach out in love.

Editor’s note – The Lancaster News recently asked readers on its Facebook page to share memories on family members who proudly served in the United States military. Here is Mickey R. Hinson Sr.‘s story on his dad, the late John Harry Hinson, who died Feb. 16, 2008, at the age of 92.

This was my father in the U.S. Army infantry in Germany and Italy in World War II.

We’ve sprung through spring and splashed through summer. Autumn splendor is on its way; Carolina blue skies will backdrop leaves of ambers, ochres and rich reds. Temperatures will drop and fall foliage will soon follow. Don’t miss a chance this year to see fall in all its majesty.

While there are countless locations to enjoy autumn colors right here in Lancaster County – including your own backyard – you can also pack a picnic and take a day or weekend trip to soak up the changing of seasons.